A controversial former lawmaker who pled guilty to assault will speak at an Arnold church and an abuse victims’ group is protesting the event.

Leaders of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, are writing officials at First Baptist Church about an upcoming appearance by former Houses Speaker Rod Jetton.

“It hurts victims of sexual violence to see predators given positions of prestige,” said David Clohessy of St. Louis, SNAP’s director.

“This kind of callousness is one reason many who are sexually victimized stay silent,” said Barbara Dorris of St. Louis, SNAP’s outreach director. “Many crime victims feel speaking up is futile because so many violent men are charismatic and won’t ever really be appropriately disciplined.”

We’ve learned that you’ve invited disgraced ex-House Speaker Rod Jetton to your Men’s Prayer Breakfast next month. For the protection of the vulnerable and the healing of the wounded, we strongly beg you to rescind this invitation. It sends very troubling messages.

The message some women will basically hear is “Don’t worry about reporting violence. The perpetrator will get little or no punishment and bounce right back into a position of power, prestige and prominence.”

The message some men will basically hear is “Don’t worry if you’re violent towards women. You’ll get little or no punishment and bounce right back into a position of power, prestige and prominence.”

No one should be sending those messages, least of all a church community.

We’re sure you know that Jetton, according to Wikipedia, was accused of "recklessly (causing) serious physical injury" to a woman during “sadomasochistic sex.” He is accused of “hitting her on the head and choking her, resulting in unconsciousness and the loss of the function of a part of her body” in 2009. The woman said that she began ‘fading’ in and out and remembered losing consciousness several times” after drinking a glass of wine that Jetton had prepared for her. The woman reported the case two days after the incident.”

In 2011, he pled guilty to misdemeanor assault.

Please don’t claim this invitation is about “forgiveness.” We can forgive a drunk driver but shouldn’t give him school bus keys. We can forgive someone who commits violence but shouldn’t give him a gun. We can forgive someone who assaults someone but shouldn’t give him a speaking role in a church.

It seems beyond the pale that a church's men's group would invite an abuser of women to an event.

Maybe Jetton has turned his life around. (On his website, however, he doesn’t mention his guilty plea, only mentioning that he was not convicted: http://secondactstrategies.com/team/RodJetton). Even so, giving him a position of prestige rubs salt into the wounds of victims of sexual violence. And it discourages and deters others who have seen, suspected or suffered such violence and are considering reporting it to authorities.

Again, we urge you to disinvite Mr. Jetton. And we urge you to explain to your flock, your staff and the public why. Thank you for your consideration.

Barbara Blaine, founder of SNAP, passed away on Sunday, September 24th, 2017. Her dying was sudden and completely unexpected. Words cannot express our sorrow nor are there words to express our gratitude for her relentless advocacy. She truly was a hero. There is an old saying, “well behaved women seldom make history”. Barbara made history and the world is a better place.

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50 State AG Call for Grand Jury

Write a letter to the attorney general of your state. Demand, request, and beg them to impanel a grand jury.

Any investigation must be:

independent of and separate from the church

must have subpoena powers and ability to compel testimony under oath

Anything short of these criteria is a sham and whitewash.

In addition, write letters to the editor, make phone calls to politicians as they can apply pressure to keep them responsive to our demand. We need to make efforts to ensure that they follow up on what the state is doing to investigate these crimes.

The Attorneys General of forty states have inquired about the grand jury process in Pennsylvania. Let's get statewide investigations going in fifty states.

Note to Letter Writers

Use your own words and style of writing. Cut and paste from the templates as you wish. Include your experiences, whether as a survivor or as a member of the community. And relate your letter to the state you were abused in or state now living in.